Stepping on the Cracks

Margaret asks what Mother’s plan is to help the Smiths, but Mother says Mrs. Smith must call the police herself. Margaret is dismayed. She and Mother set up the Christmas tree, but Margaret keeps thinking about Gordy’s family. On Christmas, Mother gives Margaret a beautiful doll even though she knows Margaret is too old to play with it. Margaret treasures it nonetheless. Mother wishes Jimmy were home.

At Elizabeth’s house, Margaret admires the tiny, perfect cardboard village beneath their tree. Margaret wishes everyone in her town were similarly home and safe. The girls then visit Barbara and Stuart, who is much improved. When Gordy arrives, Stuart sees that his father has been abusing him. Stuart frets that he cannot protect the family. Gordy angrily says that after Margaret’s mother’s visit, their father broke their mother’s arm, apologized, promised to stop drinking, and brought home a tree. Stuart declares he is going home with Gordy, but Gordy assures him he is handling things and just wants Stuart to get well. Stuart apologizes for Gordy’s anger, but Margaret says that with everyone gone it is not a happy Christmas anyway.

At school, Gordy remains unfriendly to the girls, spitting when he sees Margaret and stealing Elizabeth’s lunch. He is equally mean to everyone and ultimately gets in trouble with Mrs. Wagner. The girls continue visiting Stuart, who is out of bed but weak. Elizabeth asks Barbara what Stuart will do when he recovers. Barbara believes the Army does not need Stuart and should leave him alone. They hope the war will end before Stuart fully recovers. Elizabeth thinks Barbara loves Stuart. Gordy appears and Barbara asks why he no longer visits. Gordy nastily replies that Stuart does not notice his absence with Barbara around.

At home, Margaret finds her parents seated on the couch, crying and holding a telegram: Jimmy was killed in action. Daddy walks out, leaving Mother and Margaret to cry together; he stumbles home later smelling of drink. Before going to bed, Margaret sits in Jimmy’s room hoping the Army has made a mistake. The next day, Margaret wishes Jimmy had deserted. When Gordy tells Margaret he is sorry about Jimmy, his words make her truly realize Jimmy is dead.

Margaret’s family is despondent. Margaret visits Stuart less often because it hurts her to see him, knowing that if Jimmy had stayed home, he would be alive. Mother exchanges their blue star for a gold one. Margaret’s family receives Jimmy’s belongings and a letter from Jimmy’s commanding officer praising his bravery and sense of humor and explaining he died in the Ardennes and is buried in an American cemetery in Belgium. Margaret keeps Jimmy’s sketchbook, which is filled with drawings of animals dressed as soldiers fighting one another. Some of the illustrations scare her, so she puts the sketchbook away.

Gordy comes to school with another black eye. Stuart realizes his father is being abusive again. Although not recovered, Stuart leaves to talk with his father. Barbara and the girls follow in the hopes of stopping him, but Stuart is insistent: He kisses a tearful Barbara, thanks them for everything, and tells them to leave. Gordy bikes up, learns that Stuart is home, and runs into the house. The girls do not know what to do but speculate that Mr. Smith will turn Stuart in. They angrily step on cracks, hoping to break Mr. Smith’s back.

Mother shows Margaret the flag and medals Jimmy won for his service: a Purple Heart and a Silver Star. Margaret thinks they are comfortless “pretty decorations” that can never replace Jimmy. Margaret has questions for Mother, but Mother turns away.

The girls go to Gordy’s house looking for him and Stuart. They see Elizabeth’s father, a policeman, leading Mr. Smith out in handcuffs. Two other men carry a stretcher to an ambulance, stopping Gordy from accompanying them.

Gordy’s face is badly beaten. Barbara hugs him while he cries and explains. Gordy’s dad beat up and nearly killed Stuart, who refused to fight back but protected the rest of the family as they barricaded themselves in a bedroom. Against his mother’s wishes, Gordy opened a window and called for help. Stuart is going to an Army hospital. The Army knows he deserted. Gordy’s mother never wants to see his dad again and is moving the family to their grandmother’s home in North Carolina. Gordy thanks Barbara, Elizabeth, and Margaret for their help, assuring them that nothing that happened was their fault. Barbara promises to find Stuart.

Elizabeth tells Margaret that Mr. Smith will go free soon unless Mrs. Smith presses charges, which Margaret thinks is unfair given how much Mrs. Smith fears her husband. Mother talks with Margaret about the incident: Stuart was beaten unconscious; he has a skull fracture and a broken arm. Mother now regrets not telling the police about what she saw at the Smith’s house. However, when Margaret proudly admits to helping Stuart in the woods and probably saving his life, Mother is furious. She calls Stuart a “coward” and expresses disgust with Margaret. Margaret insists Stuart needed help and says she wishes Jimmy had hidden in the woods because then he would be alive. Mother slaps Margaret hard in the face.

Mother apologizes for hitting her in anger, but Margaret compares Mother’s action to those of abusive Mr. Smith. Mother insists Margaret does not know how important the war is, but Margaret believes she was right to help Stuart, saying that Jimmy would have approved, and that Mother doesn’t understand and shouldn’t judge Stuart. Mother disagrees, but the two reconcile.

Margaret and Elizabeth learn that Gordy’s family has already moved away. They cannot imagine life without him and hope he comes back.

Elizabeth’s mother, equally angry when she learns how the girls helped Stuart, spanks Elizabeth with a hairbrush. Neither girl is allowed to leave their yards for three weeks. The day their punishment ends, they see Barbara walking Brent and ask her about Stuart, who has been corresponding with Barbara. Stuart is still in the hospital. His father broke one of his eardrums, leaving Stuart deaf in one ear and making him ineligible for combat. Since Stuart did not desert while overseas, the Army will not execute him and will hopefully be lenient because of his family situation and his pacifist beliefs. Stuart has asked Barbara to marry him. The girls are thrilled. Feigning disinterest, Elizabeth asks about Gordy. He is doing well at his grandmother’s house, and Mr. Smith has left the family for California.

Margaret briefly imagines her family, complete with Jimmy, taking a vacation after the war ends, but she realizes tearfully that the fantasy will never happen. The girls step on cracks to break Hitler’s back, and Margaret understands that while many things have changed, their friendship remains. They pinky promise to stay best friends forever.